Kakao Navi to Provide Traffic Information Based on Big Data

KaKao Navi will provide useful information for those who are traveling domestically this summer.

KaKao Corp’s mobile GPS application KaKao Navi disclosed traffic data for the estimated top 10 crowded vacation destinations in South Korea, along with the estimated date and time period for the most crowded time on highway. The results are from analyzing last year’s Kakao Navi big data during summer vacation period (the last week of July and the first week of August). Last year’s Kakao Navi big data was used for the analysis.

Some of the most visited beaches from 2016 include Daecheon Beach in Chungcheong province, Haeundae Beach in Busan, and Gyeongpo Beach in Gangwon province. From the Seoul metropolitan area, Ulwangri beach in Yeongjong-do and Dongmak beach in Ganghwa made the top 10 list.

Songchu valley located in Yangju, Gyeonggi, Baekun Valley in Pocheon, and Yongchu valley in Gapyeong were the three most visited valleys according to last year’s Kakao Navi big data analysis.

Overall, Gwangmyeong cave was the most popular vacation spot in the Seoul metropolitan area, followed by Caribbean Bay in Yongin. One Mount in Ilsan also made the top 10 list along with Baekun, Yongchu, and Myungji valleys.

Saturday, July 29th and Tuesday, August 1st are expected to have the most traffic on Gyeongbu, West Coast, and Yeongdong expressways. The expressways respectively directed towards Busan, Jeonju, and Gangneung will have the worst traffic from 8am to noon on Tuesday, and the opposite ways will have the most severe congestion between 5pm to 7pm on August 1st. However, the newly opened Seoul-Yangyang expressway and the newly introduced bus-only lane could bring about an unexpected variance to these prediction results. KaKao Navi has provided the same analysis service for the New Year’s holiday traffic data in January. Kakao’s predictions agreed with the actual traffic results.

KaKao Navi director JongHwan Park stated, “We are providing these data so that more people can have more fun and convenient travel experiences this summer.”

KaKao Navi also provides multiple features for long-haul drivers and family/group travel drivers. Parents traveling with their children can set the voice of GPS to Pororo the Little Penguin or Tayo the Little Bus, two popular cartoon characters in South Korea. Group travelers can share the destination through Kakao Talk, the messenger app, and simply hit the message to begin the guide.

KaKao Navi also recommends vacation spots, things to do, and good restaurants. Its ‘Tag-Recommendation Tag’ tab provides recommendations based on over 100 themes. Users can simply use the ‘Filter by distance’ and ‘look up maps’ options to quickly check and search for these popular destinations.

Jiwon is a tech writer, software engineer, data analyst, and a fan of any new tech invention. He is currently studying Computer Science and Statistics at Johns Hopkins researching medical imaging using computer vision. He believes that tech is the new superpower of our time, and he wants to do anything to further its development. You can reach Jiwon at jiwon.shin@techforkorea.com